Scottish Executive

Autism

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adolescents and (b) adults diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s syndrome have also been diagnosed with depression in each of the last five years.

Mr Frank McAveety: The information requested is not held centrally.

Autism

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will offer assistance to the parents and carers of those diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s syndrome towards the costs of training packages offered by the Scottish Society for Autism.

Mr Frank McAveety: In recognition of the importance of supporting carers we have made £10 million a year available to local authorities under the Strategy for Carers in Scotland . This is double the resources previously available. These resources are being used to support carers in a variety of ways and can be used for the training of carers in functions related to their supporting role.

Autism

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are in place regarding supported further education places for adolescents and adults diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s syndrome, broken down by local authority area.

Iain Gray: The Executive allocated £22.6 million to implement the recommendations of the Beattie Committee which examined the needs of young people who require additional support to make the transition to post-school education and training or employment. £4.5 million of this funding was committed to improving support for students in further education.

  Further education institutions are autonomous bodies and are responsible for the provision of appropriate learning opportunities for students with special needs. Students with autism or Asperger’s syndrome may be enrolled on either mainstream courses or special programmes in further education colleges and colleges can claim additional funding in respect of these students.

  It is not possible to provide this information by local authority area.

Autism

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reduce the risk of mental health illness in adolescents diagnosed with autism and Asperger’s syndrome.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive is conscious that the greatest contribution to the reduction of risk, and best intervention, is the earliest possible detection of a disorder, with continuing effective co-ordinated interventions by all relevant agencies.

  With this in mind we have commissioned the Public Health Institute for Scotland to conduct a review of child and adolescent mental health provision. This report, which will be available later this year, and the Autistic Spectrum Disorders Needs Assessment Report published in February, will better inform planning and provision decisions in this area of care.

Community Care

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what community support facilities are available in each NHS board area for those discharged from hospital.

Mr Frank McAveety: Each person has their needs assessed prior to discharge. The single shared assessment process, which will be in place for all care groups by April 2003, enhances the joint approach to providing support in the community, with appropriate health and/or social care put in place to meet individual needs and provided by members of the relevant Primary Health Care Team or local authority social work department.

  A key recommendation of the Joint Future Group was that joint discharge/rapid response teams should be put in place in each local authority area. These teams consist of both health and social care professionals and enhance the care available to those discharged from hospital.

Eating Disorders

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations regarding eating disorders from the Framework for Mental Health Services have been implemented in each NHS board area since the framework’s publication.

Malcolm Chisholm: No specific recommendations are made in the published guidance. The aim is to provide agencies with a workable planning and audit tool to use in assessing the level and type of provision appropriate for their area.

  A view on local progress made with eating disorder services and support is offered in the published overall assessments provided with each Mental Health and Well Being Support Group area reports.

Eating Disorders

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died as a result of anorexia nervosa in each of the last 10 years.

Dr Richard Simpson: The information requested is presented in the following table.

  Deaths from Anorexia Nervosa1, Scotland

  


1991 
  

1992 
  

1993 
  

1994 
  

1995 
  

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

20012




2 
  

2 
  

4 
  

5 
  

1 
  

2 
  

5 
  

0 
  

3 
  

2 
  

1 
  



  Notes:

  1. 1991-99, ICD9 code 307.1; 2000-01, ICD10 code F50.0.

  2. Provisional.

Eating Disorders

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are being implemented nationally to address the number of people suffering from anorexia nervosa.

Malcolm Chisholm: In terms of national initiatives, we have published guidance on the best organisation of eating disorder services, including specifically services and support for those with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

  Wider national initiatives on mental health will also have an impact on awareness and investment in services, including not least the current and promised £4 million to promote positive mental health and well-being.

Eating Disorders

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been diagnosed with an eating disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) NHS board area, (b) age and (c) gender.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information from a sample of general practices, selected as representative of Scotland as a whole, provides national estimates of patients seen by GPs. Using information from this national sample, the following table shows the estimated number of patients seen by a GP and recorded with an eating disorder diagnosis during the year specified, for Scotland. A health board breakdown is not available. Note that, in some cases, the same patient may be recorded in more than one year. Also note that, because the information is derived from a sample, caution is advised in interpreting trends across years.

  Estimated Number of Patients, with an Eating Disorder Diagnosis, seen by GPs in Scotland, 1999-20011, by Age Group and by Gender

  





1999 2


2000 3


2001 4




Total 
  

3,400 
  

3,850 
  

3,750 
  



by Age Group 
  



0-14 years 
  

775 
  

725 
  

525 
  



15-24 years 
  

1,025 
  

1,200 
  

1,150 
  



25-44 years 
  

1,300 
  

1,575 
  

1,450 
  



45-64 years 
  

175 
  

175 
  

275 
  



65 and over 
  

125 
  

175 
  

350 
  



by Gender 
  



Males 
  

650 
  

450 
  

450 
  



Females 
  

2,750 
  

3,400 
  

3,300 
  



  Source: Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR), ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  1. Patients seen more than once in the same year will only be counted once for that year. Patients could be counted once in each different year.

  2. Based on 51 practices, population 288,433, January 1999 to December 1999.

  3. Based on 55 practices, population 348,257, January 2000 to December 2000.

  4. Based on 60 practices, population 370,605, January 2001 to December 2001.

Eating Disorders

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many in-patient beds are available in each NHS board area for the treatment of anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders.

Malcolm Chisholm: National information on NHS beds is primarily held at Consultant Specialty level, and does not provide the detail requested.

Eating Disorders

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specialist training is in place for (a) general practitioners, (b) community nurses, (c) teachers, (d) social workers and (e) psychiatrists in identifying, diagnosing and treating anorexia nervosa.

Malcolm Chisholm: Each of the professions listed will have varying degrees of contact with those who suffer from anorexia nervosa and therefore varying needs in the area of specialist training.

  General Practitioners (GPs)

  GPs are encouraged to look at their own personal learning needs (based on the principles of adult learning) and the needs of their patients. Each GP receives an annual Postgraduate Education Allowance to support an agreed amount of training in areas approved by the Deaneries. In the future, the appraisal process will assist GPs to identify their learning needs with the help of trained appraisers.

  Community Nurses

  There is no discrete specialist training in this area for community nursing. The specialist practitioner programmes for community nursing (community psychiatric nursing, public health nursing and district nursing) touch on the subject and students sometimes use the subject for a project and thereby study it in more depth, but this is at their own discretion. Nurses working in this highly specialised area would attend ad hoc specialist short courses, study days, modules etc, at their own or their trust’s discretion.

  Teachers

  It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that a wide range of continuing professional development opportunities is available for qualified teachers. Training aimed at equipping teachers to deal with issues relating to anorexia nervosa could be recognised as one such appropriate opportunity.

  Social Workers

  There are no set requirements for the inclusion of specific training in relation to anorexia nervosa as part of the Diploma in Social Work. Most courses, however, will have specific input on mental illness, and in many cases eating disorders will be covered to some degree. Practising social workers, especially those in adult community care teams and those working in psychiatric hospitals or community mental health teams, will be involved in working with persons with anorexia nervosa as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Specialist information and training will be available to those working in such settings.

  Social workers who have been practising for two years and have relevant experience are eligible for additional specialist training as Mental Health Officers to carry out specific functions under the Mental Health Act. This entails additional training of at least 60 days and will have a taught component of between three and four weeks. As part of the latter there will invariably be input in respect of anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, especially as they may present complex ethical and legal issues in respect of treatment.

  Psychiatrists

  As part of the theoretical training involved in the three years’ experience required of junior psychiatrists before they sit the Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists examination, there will be extensive didactic teaching in eating disorders. In addition, especially in the area of general psychiatry, junior psychiatrists will have the opportunity to see, assess, and treat patients with eating disorders, under consultant supervision. This clinical experience will be expanded in the three years that general psychiatrists spend as Specialist Registrars (SpRs).

  Alongside this, SpRs will have the opportunity to develop a special interest in eating disorders – there is protected time in the SpR contract to allow such a special interest – and SpRs also have the opportunity to acquire skills in particular psychological interventions such as cognitive behaviour therapy. About 50% of SpRs are involved in some form of psychological intervention training.

  The training in the specific area of anorexia nervosa can be accessed through postgraduate deaneries as part of NHS Education for Scotland, The Royal Colleges of Psychiatry and General Practitioners and other providers such as voluntary agencies.

  A template for eating disorders was widely distributed to all board areas in October 2001. It offered a service profile/specification for the organisation of co-ordinated services and support for those with, surviving or developing an eating disorder (NHS HDL (2001) 75).

Environment

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to protect peatlands.

Allan Wilson: A number of statutory mechanisms are in place to protect peatlands in Scotland. Raised bog and blanket bog habitats are both protected under the EU Habitats Directive through the designation of sites as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). There are 27 proposed and candidate raised bog SACs in Scotland, and together these support some 68% of Scotland’s "active" raised bog, and some 32% of the area of raised bog which has been assessed as degraded but capable of restoration. There are also 45 blanket bog candidate SACs covering a total area of over quarter of a million hectares.

  In addition, a further 42 raised bogs and around 100 sites with blanket bog interests are afforded domestic UK protection through designation as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Scotland.

  Bogs outwith the statutory nature conservation designation are subject to the safeguards provided through the planning system when being considered for new peat extraction applications. Those bogs which are subject to existing planning consent are protected through the on-going Review of Mineral Permissions (ROMPs) process.

  The UK Biodiversity Action Plan identifies both raised and blanket bog as priority habitats, and a number of initiatives are under way to achieve targets that have been set out in this plan. Both raised bog and blanket bog have specific habitat action plans developed to deal with issues affecting these sites.

  There is no commercial peat extraction from any of Scotland’s national or internationally protected peatland sites.

Environment

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of peatlands is used for commercial peat extraction.

Allan Wilson: Scotland supports substantial areas of both raised bogs and blanket bogs, with an estimated total resource of 27,884 ha and 1,060,000 ha respectively. Peat extraction occurs from both habitat types.

  The proportion of peatland currently subject to planning permission for commercial peat extraction is calculated as 4% of raised bog and 0.002% of blanket bog habitat; overall this equates to 0.3% of the total Scottish peatland resource.

  There is no commercial peat extraction from any of Scotland’s national or internationally protected sites.

Environment

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to encourage the production and use of alternatives to peat.

Allan Wilson: The UK Lowland Raised Bog and Blanket Bog Habitat Action Plans encourage the use and production of alternatives to peat, and the Scottish Executive is jointly responsible for the objectives of the plans, in partnership with other agencies. The action plans aim to:

  1. Review and where necessary amend or develop policies on the consumption of peat by 2002, with the aim of achieving a reduction in peat consumption in all sectors and for all purposes. A minimum of 40% of total market requirements to be based on non-peat materials by 2005.

  2. Encourage and provide advice on the development and marketing of peat alternatives to reduce amateur and professional demand for peat-based horticultural products, to achieve the long-term safeguard of peatlands. It is recognised that approximately 75% of extracted peat is used by amateur gardeners in the UK, and one of the key themes of the Scottish Biodiversity Forum is addressing this audience through the Garden for Life initiative. Useable alternatives to peat based garden composts are now easily available.

  In addition, the Scottish Executive provided an additional £3 million to local authorities in 2001 to enable them to increase recycling and composting. A further £50.4 million is also now available for local authorities to begin implementing area waste plans, and this should enable a significant increase in the production of compost in Scotland. The Scottish Executive supports two market development programmes (ReMaDe and WRAP) which aim to promote the use of recycled products, including compost.

Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish a centre for the care of young chronically sick people in the Lothians.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has no plans to establish a centre for the care of the young chronically sick people in the Lothians. Any such plans would be for NHS Lothian in partnership with local authorities and the voluntary sector, and I am aware that there have been discussions between these bodies on the shape of a future service for people with high dependency. These discussions are in the early stages.

Health

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the regional planning of services will impact on neurosciences in the Greater Glasgow NHS Board area.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in the development of a plan for the funding of neurosciences.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding is available to conduct nerve conduction tests in the west of Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm: The West of Scotland Chief Executives Group is currently considering a proposal for the regional planning and funding of neurosciences.

Health

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients from outside the Greater Glasgow NHS Board area are treated within the board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is shown for financial years April 1997 to March 2001.

  Number of Patients Resident Outside the Greater Glasgow NHS Board Area Treated as an In-Patient or Daycase within the Board Area, April 1997 to March 2001.

  





1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Number of patients1,2,3


38,439 
  

38,862 
  

37,534 
  

37,576 
  



  Notes:

  1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland.

  2. Probability matching methods have been used to link together individual SMR01 hospital discharges for each patient, thereby creating "linked" patient histories. Hence, if a patient has multiple hospital discharges in a year, they are counted once in the figure for that year.

  3. Figures exclude health board of residence "Unknown" or "No Fixed Abode".

Health

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what neurosurgical services are currently available in the (a) west and (b) east of Scotland and (c) nationally.

Malcolm Chisholm: Adult neurosurgical services are currently provided at four centres in Scotland: Grampian University Hospital NHS Trust, Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust, Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust and the Institute of Neurological Sciences, South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust. Paediatric neurosurgery is provided at these four centres and at Yorkhill NHS Trust.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what cost-benefit work has been carried out in relation to mortgage rescue schemes.

Ms Margaret Curran: Work already undertaken suggests that a mortgage to rent scheme could have a number of benefits which would justify the cost of operating the scheme. A successful application under the scheme will avoid the possession by the lender of the applicant’s home, and this will in many cases reduce the financial burden experienced by the lender in taking possession of the property. It will also avoid costs to the public purse, such as court costs and legal aid costs when the lender seeks an order for possession and the cost to the local authority of dealing with a homelessness application, an application to be re-housed and the possible need to transfer any children to a new school. It would also avoid the indirect costs of providing further replacement accommodation in the social rented sector.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what internal appeals procedure, in the event of a disputed assessment by a lender, exists under the mortgage to rent scheme.

Ms Margaret Curran: The co-ordinator plans to give further consideration, in consultation, with the proposed working group, to the establishment of an internal appeals procedure relating to decisions made by her on eligibility for the scheme.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any guidance from sheriffs was sought when formulating the policy for its mortgage to rent scheme and, if so, what this guidance was.

Ms Margaret Curran: It is not normal practice to ask sheriffs for guidance on an administrative scheme such as the mortgage to rent scheme.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many mortgage rescue schemes are currently in place.

Ms Margaret Curran: We are aware of the existence of a small number of mortgage rescue schemes currently run by social landlords and local authorities, although the precise number is not known.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether compliance with the mortgage to rent scheme is compulsory for lenders.

Ms Margaret Curran: There are no plans to make the mortgage to rent scheme compulsory for lenders.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the mortgage to rent scheme interacts with sheriff courts.

Ms Margaret Curran: The mortgage to rent scheme is an administrative rather than a legal scheme. It is not intended that there should be any formal link between this scheme and the involvement of sheriff courts in repossession actions.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently assisted by mortgage rescue schemes and how many it is anticipated will be under the mortgage to rent scheme.

Ms Margaret Curran: Information on the number of people currently assisted by mortgage rescue schemes run by other agencies is not known. It is too early to say how many people might be helped under the Executive-sponsored mortgage to rent scheme since this will depend on the number of applications and the precise details of each case. We will, however, be seeking to ensure that the scheme, when it becomes operational, assists as many people as possible within the limits of the available funding.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the mortgage to rent scheme will deal with a defaulting debtor who is party to a shared ownership scheme.

Ms Margaret Curran: There was no provision for defaulting debtors in shared ownership housing in the draft scheme which was issued for consultation last year. We may wish to review this, in due course, in the light of experience of the initial operation of the scheme.

Housing

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive who will meet the costs of any independent repairs assessment and legal fees incurred by the borrower in relation to the mortgage to rent scheme.

Ms Margaret Curran: This is one of the issues which will be considered by the recently appointed co-ordinator in consultation with a working group to be established to advise on the scheme.

Individual Learning Accounts

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in investigating potential fraud in the Individual Learning Accounts scheme.

Iain Gray: Officials are continuing to liase closely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise on the validation of outstanding claims and, in particular, any civil or criminal action to recover payments made. We will involve the police in cases where we believe that fraud or other criminal activity may have taken place. There have been initial discussions with Strathclyde Police Fraud Squad and our solicitors are also involved in offering advice.

Local Government Finance

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what weighting is given to poverty and health factors when calculating local authority central funding allocations.

Mr Andy Kerr: Details of weightings are set out in Grant Aided Expenditure (the "Green Book") 2001-02, which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 12261). The weightings also apply to 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Mental Health

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has funded in each of the last five years into depression and whether it will place a copy of any such research in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following list indicates the number of research projects on depression which the Chief Scientist Office commenced funding during each of the last five financial years. The projects vary in length from five months to three years and three are on-going.

  


Financial Year 
  

No. of Projects Started 
  



1997-98 
  

1 
  



1998-99 
  

3 
  



1999-2000 
  

4 
  



2000-01 
  

2 
  



2001-02 
  

6 
  



  All these projects are recorded on a UK-wide research database called the National Research Register which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404).

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which psychiatric illness currently has the highest death rate.

Dr Richard Simpson: Deaths in Scotland are coded using the Tenth Revision of the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD10). In 2000, some 2,300 deaths were coded to the "Mental and Behavioural Disorders" chapter of ICD10. The largest category, almost 1,400 deaths, was "Unspecified dementia".

NHS Waiting Times

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for a routine ophthalmology appointment (a) nationally and (b) in the Lanarkshire NHS Board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Provisional figures for the year ended 31 December 2001 show that the median waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in ophthalmology, following referral by a general medical practitioner, was 90 days in the Lanarkshire NHS Board area and 66 days in Scotland.

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when a decision will be made on the designation of new Nitrate Vulnerable Zones following the recent consultation with stakeholders.

Ross Finnie: Regulations have been laid today which designate the following areas as groundwater Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs):

  Moray, Aberdeenshire, Banff and Buchan;

  Strathmore and Fife, and

  Lothian and the Borders.

  Copies of the detailed maps of the NVZs which accompany the regulations will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre, at local Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department area offices and in the Executives' offices at Pentland House and Victoria Quay in Edinburgh. A tabulated summary of the monitoring evidence will accompany the map copies.

Public Appointments

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the current procedures to require appointees to public bodies to declare any party political membership.

Mr Andy Kerr: No, the Executive has no plans to do so since the current arrangements are satisfactory and comply with the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice .

  A standard question on political activity, as set out in the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code, is asked of all applicants for appointments to public bodies. The question only asks for information which is already in the public domain and does not ask for private or personal information such as membership of a political party or voting preferences.

  We will be publishing political activity information on public appointees in future editions of the annual report on public appointments. Legislation to establish a separate Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland will be introduced in the Parliament shortly.

Special Advisers

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the circumstances when the advice of a special adviser would be sought.

Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25644 on 20 May 2002.

Special Advisers

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether special advisors are able to delay the issuing of answers to parliamentary questions.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: The responsibility for answering a parliamentary question lies with the appropriate minister.

Special Advisers

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any guidance has been issued to special advisers on providing advice on answers to parliamentary questions.

Patricia Ferguson: The Executive’s guidance on parliamentary questions is available to all Executive staff.

Sport

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support the development of new racecourses.

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support the development of all weather racecourses.

Dr Elaine Murray: The growth potential of horse racing in Scotland was highlighted earlier this year in a study commissioned by Scottish Racing. The Executive, through its various agencies, stands ready to assist where it can the development of any business including the development of new racecourses with or without all weather facilities.

Youth Crime

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce youth crime in Clydesdale.

Cathy Jamieson: Our action programme to reduce youth crime, launched on 28 January, identifies the measures we will take this year to build a safer Scotland and reduce youth offending. All authorities have received funding to support multi-agency youth crime teams and to put in place effective programmes which will reduce youth crime. South Lanarkshire has received £552,000 in the last two years and will receive £552,000 next year. The Executive is completing a mapping exercise of all local authorities to measure their progress with developing these services and programmes. The results will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre when available.